The Pendle Award for Philanthropy recognizes outstanding contributions to building vitality through support of the Community Foundation. The award’s inaugural year coincided with our tenth anniversary, and there have been some outstanding award recipients to date. They are Ray Lessard, Tom Cooney, Brad Shoemaker, Robert and Joanne Wordham, Gary Reamey, and Winston Meyer.

It is with great pleasure that we announce that the 2017 Pendle Award for Philanthropy honoree is Merle Zoerb. Merle has been a tireless advocate and volunteer for the Community Foundation of Mississauga since before it was formed. He was one of a group of community citizens who were aware of the Community Foundations movement that was sweeping Canada and the value they brought to the lives of those communities. There were so many reasons that it made sense in Mississauga and along with a handful of early volunteers, Merle helped to establish this Foundation.

Since that day, Merle Zoerb has been a staunch advocate for the Community Foundation and the possibilities it creates for this community. He has served on the Asset Development Committee, and presently serves as member of the Community Leadership Committee, which supports the Foundation’s mission of community convening. He actively supports the events, such as a recent Vital Conversation on Belonging. Merle believes that the Community Foundation can play a pivotal role in communicating and promoting belonging in the broader community.

After a career in community cable where he became the founder of Cable 10 in Mississauga, and finished his career at Rogers, he turned his energies to our community as a volunteer. Merle joined the Mississauga Arts Council Board, serving as its chair for many years. He has also been a long-time Rotarian, contributing to its mission at home and abroad. Merle was recently honored by Heritage Mississauga with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his work, including his dedication to the Community Foundation.

Not only has Merle been a longstanding founder and volunteer, but he also gives back. Merle and his wife Susan created their own endowment fund. They feel very strongly that for all they have enjoyed in their lives, they wanted to give back to this community. This fund, which benefits Mississauga in perpetuity, is a way of doing that.

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The Community Foundation of Mississauga serves the people and neighbourhoods of Mississauga from Port Credit in the south to Meadowvale in the north. Working with our donors and the broader community, we invest in building strong and resilient places to live, work and play.